Protests bring Athens to a halt
Massive traffic jams — sometimes stretching for kilometers — that brought Athens to a standstill on Tuesday due to a public transportation strike, were compounded by a large motor protest by local administration workers.
Hundreds of employees from around Attica drove to Parliament on motorcycles, in service cars and dump trucks to protest government reforms to the public sector that include slashing salaries and benefits and putting a significant part of the workforce on a labor standby scheme that would mean them taking heavily docked wages for 12 months before their status is re-evaluated.
Representatives for the union, POE-OTA, argue that local authorities are already understaffed and that such a measure would seriously hamper the operation of services.
Meanwhile, bus drivers organized a separate rally at Omonia Square, causing more traffic woes for commuters.